Abit KX7-333R KT333 Motherboard Review - Packaging & Software Bundle

Abit. When you hear this name you think of a manufacturer that has brought out some great motherboards in the past. But when they introduced the AT7 board with it's Legacy-Free packaging, some folks had second thoughts. Come join Asher "Acid" Moses as he takes a look at the new Abit KX7-333R Motherboard. It takes the KT333 chipset, the newest Highpoint RAID controller, and then adds back in the legacy support that many feel they still need. Can it live up to the Abit tradition? Let's find out!

The KX7-333R comes bundled with the regular Abit cardboard box that we have seen with all Abit boards since the KG7. Abit are obviously promoting the board's speed with this package design, judging by the racing cars on the box as well as the words "Welcome to the Fast Lane" plastered on the side of the box.

Inside the box was not the plethora of free software and other bundled goodies we are used to seeing from many other manufacturers. Instead, there is a driver CD, a driver diskette for the RAID controller, some IDE and floppy cables, and a backplate to enable two extra USB ports. However, there is some free software included on the driver CD. This includes Adobe Acrobat Reader, Norton Anti-Virus 2002 and Abit's Hardware Monitor program that gives you various readouts such as CPU temperature, system temperature, fan speeds, etc.

This is not the most elaborate software bundle we have seen packaged with a motherboard, however, you must remember that Abit are targeting the enthusiast market with this board and many enthusiasts are most likely to already own this software, and are just looking for a cheap, high performance motherboard - without the bells and whistles.